


Counting Footsteps

by DuchessDeeDee



Series: 1, 2, 3 [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, BOSS NCT, Balance powers, Basically, Canon Compliant, Disney Princess? Chenle, Electricity manipulation, Empathy, Flower Power, Gravity Control, Ice Powers, Invisibility, JUST EPIC, Levitation, Luck related powers, M/M, Metamorphmagus, NCT 2018, NCT 2019, Ships if you squint, Summoning/Banishing powers, Superspeed, Telekinesis, Teleportation, The seventh sense, Traits!Universe, air bending, basically everyone is a boss, but its not graphic, but they're there, color manipulation, fire bending, force fields, metal bending, snow and stuff, sums it all up, there we go, theres a lowkey boss battle, weather manipulation, winter powers?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-17 15:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18101186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuchessDeeDee/pseuds/DuchessDeeDee
Summary: “I, ah, I can’t say the last part,” Mark finally manages. His breathing is picking up and he forces himself to calm down. Getting an anxiety attack over something like this would be dumb.He’s done dumber things.“Why not?” Renjun demands, looking a little put out. “That’s the best part! Besides, you’re the one that brought it up.”“You asked what the difference was between Canadian rock paper scissors and Korean,” Mark sighs.“And you told us, so now you have to do it,” Donghyuck says. “C’mon, are you chickening out?”“I really can’t,” Mark repeats. His hands are shaking and he tucks them under the table.Jaemin tilts his head, “Why not?”ORA Trait is a gift that every person possesses. Some are simpler than others, like the ability to heat a kettle without a stove, or to dry your hair without thought. Mark’s mother’s is to find spare change every time she steps outside, while his father’s is to sleep through anything.Mark’s, as it turns out, is to become invisible.





	Counting Footsteps

**Author's Note:**

> I swear my ideas come form the dumbest places. I was half asleep and read something wrong and BOOM. Also this was lowkey only supposed to be like a 2K. Rip. 
> 
> If you’re new to NCT and as confused as I was, Yoonoh is Jaehyun, Yukhei/Xuxi is Lucas, Dongyoung is Doyoung, Sicheng is Winwin, and Donghyuck is Haechan. There’s also a few others (like Ten) but those were the main confusing names to me. I got into NCT like a month and a week ago? I’m just now getting everyone straight in my head, but now there’s also Wayv so I need to learn more names, but thankfully it’s just three more (Yangyang, Xiaojun, and Hendery). Right? UNTIL THEY MAKE ANOTHER SUB UNIT BUT IT'S FINE.
> 
> Also I listed everyone's powers in the endnotes, if you get as confused as I do...

The first time Mark cried was in elementary school. They had just started learning the number system, mouthing along with the teacher. Their homework, she said, was to count all the way to 20 for their parents and bring back a slip of signed paper saying they’d done that. The first thing Mark does once class ends is to repeat the numbers to himself over and over, stumbling over some of the syllables. When he finally looks up again, it’s to see the teacher lock the door behind her as she heads out.

 

It takes them three hours to find Mark, police officers busting into the classroom to find him sitting in the middle of it crying his heart out. His parents refuse to let him out of their sights and Mark clings tightly to his mom’s sweater as he sobs out his half explanation. It’s not until a few days later that they gently sit him down in the middle of the living room to explain that he’s awakened his Trait.

 

A Trait is a gift that every person possesses. Some are simpler than others, like the ability to heat a kettle without a stove, or to dry your hair without thought. Mark’s mother’s is to find spare change every time she steps outside, while his father’s is to sleep through anything.

 

Mark’s, as it turns out, is to become invisible. Anytime he counts, no matter what language, he disappears from sight, as well as sound. It’s as if he doesn’t exist.

 

His father’s ability is classed as ‘Basic Household’, while his mother is considered ‘Potentially Disruptive’. Mark, at 5 years old, is told that he is ‘Dangerous to Society’ and his ankle is fashioned with a tracker. It blinks red every time he counts and Mark spends half of elementary school with his mouth shut and eyes down. His classmates jeer at him, skittering away when they see the blinking anklet. Every child knows what it means, and even their new teachers steer clear of him. His grades plummet and the teachers refuse to have parent-teacher conferences with Mark in the same room. It’s hard enough finding a teacher that will even allow him to sit in the back of their class without threatening to quit.

 

His parents decide enough is enough and they move back to Korea, where such restrictions on abilities are inhumane. The anklet is taken off and dismantled at customs where the kind lady gives him a soft smile and a packet of chewing gum. Mark cries again, then pretends he hasn’t when the flight attendant asks if he is ok.

 

At his new school people are much more open with their Traits, and even those that might’ve been closely watched back home are celebrated and honed by their teachers. Everyone knows better than to try and use their Traits for illicit activities because the cctv cameras are equipped with the world’s best detection technology.

 

He auditions for SM Entertainment with some of his friends because he thinks Super Junior is kinda cool, and then spends the next few years as a trainee there. The contract he signs says that under no circumstances is he to use his ability for illegal purposes or harm towards others. They only ask him what his ability is because they’re required by law to know, then they lock it away and never look at it again. The managers know so that they don’t accidentally trigger anyone's Trait by accident, but they are never required to use their Trait unless they want to. Traits are sometimes seen as private things that are slowly becoming more mainstream. In any case, SM likes the mystery their unknown Traits seem to lend.

 

Debuting was like a dream, and it’s not until a few years later that Mark realizes that he’s one of the only ones that hasn’t divulged his Trait. The Dreamie’s dorm is often filled with levitating objects from Jisung that Chenle casually plucks out of the air on the back of whatever animal he’s friends with that day. Renjun often changes his hair color with a thought depending on how he’s feeling or his mood. Jaemin likes sitting on clouds while reading, and Jeno often accompanies him by sitting on the ceiling.

 

127’s dorm is a chaotic mess that often rolls over to the U dorm, Lucas popping between the two with his teleporting Trait and sometimes transferring members back and forth. Taeil brandishes a four leaf clover at the rest of them when they disturb his sleep, and Jungwoo calms the rest of them down. Taeyong seems to be everywhere at once, skid marks sometimes left in his wake, while Yuta and Winwin have recurring Avatar battles, fire and ice fluttering between them teasingly.

 

Mark’s never told any of them, and none of them have ever asked. He sometimes gets sympathetic looks from Johnny who secretly divulges that there is a danger rating in America similar to the one in Canada. He even lets Mark see a metal link from his old anklet that he wears as a necklace, the metal twisting with a single thought from his mind.

 

(“I bet we would’ve been the world’s best bank robbers,” Mark says to Johnny, ‘apple-juice’ clutched in one hand. 

 

Johnny snorts, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “They’d make a documentary about us.”)

 

 ~.~

 

Privacy is, of course, a lie all celebrities tell themselves, which is why Mark is unsurprised when the managers tell them they’re ‘allowed’ to use their Traits in a game. Allowed is a term that, in the idol industry, basically means required.

 

“You are all so gonna lose,” Chenle says confidently, a tiger jumping out of a neighboring bush.

 

Not one of them blinks as it licks his face, curling around his leg. They’ve seen that trick too many times for it to still be impressive, but Mark’s sure it will bring the ratings up. Of course, Chenle’s parents had paid a handsome sum of money for “Chen-ge” to be allowed to roam free, but he’s an even better bodyguard than the ones they have now.

 

“Wooooow,” Renjun says theatrically. “Didn’t see that one coming.”

 

Chenle sticks his tongue out. “You’re just jealous because you’ve only got your hair to help you.”

 

 “You’d be surprised what hair can do,” Renjun snaps back.

 

 “I’m pretty sure I’m the one that’s going to win,” Jaemin huffs primly. “Your birds can only tell you so much, Chenle.”

 

 “You’re just all jealous because the real master is here,” Donghyuck flips his hair.

 

 They groan in unison.

 

 “Can we give Haechan a handicap?” Jeno asks.

 

 Jisung sighs, “We’ll still lose anyways.” 

 

Donghyuck’s Trait was, naturally, world-renowned and unique. A part of the ‘Luck’ class, the Dreamies called it his ‘7th sense’. Somewhat like Taeil’s luck, Donghyuck could sense something before it was about to happen. It was kind of like seeing the future without entirely knowing what was about to happen. He was always able to be in the right place at the right time, no matter the circumstance. As such, he almost always won their intergroup competitions.

 

Mark doesn’t have a problem with this. Mainly because anytime Donghyuck wants to use his powers, he has to make a duck face. It’s adorable.

 

“Let’s just start,” Mark says. He’s going to lose, so there’s no point in delaying the inevitable.

 

“Aren’t you going to use your Trait, Mark?” One of the newer managers asks curiously.

 

The group turns to stare at him and Mark bites his lip.

 

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mark hyung use his ability,” Jeno hums.

 

“You’re right,” Jisung agrees. “Hyung! You should do it. I bet your Trait will kick Donghyuck’s Trait’s a-”

 

Chenle slaps a hand over his mouth.

 

“I don’t need it to beat any of you,” Mark says with false confidence. “Especially you, Hyuck.”

 

Renjun wraps his arms around Donghyuck’s shoulders. “Haechan, you’ll help hyung won’t you? I love you the most~”

 

“Of course Injunie hyungie,” Donghyuck beams.

 

The managers explain the game, and not ten minutes later Renjun and Donghyuck return with the hidden sock that they devise into an impromptu sock puppet show. Chenle rounds up the other three, but it takes them half an hour to find Mark stuck in a tree.

 

“We wouldn’t hide it in such a difficult spot. How did you get up there in the first place?” The manager asks, amused as a ladder is propped against the tree. The other members are rolling on the ground laughing.

 

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Mark mutters, crawling down the ladder and landing in Donghyuck’s arms when he falls. His ears only turn a little red.

 

~.~

 

It comes to head on a variety show. They’re playing a game of rock-paper-scissors, except it’s the ‘long-version’, as Donghyuk puts it. The ‘regular’ version plus ‘one-two-three-shoot’ tacked on the end. The person with the most wins gets a prize, but at the moment, Mark couldn’t care less.

 

“I, ah, I can’t say the last part,” Mark finally manages. His breathing is picking up and he forces himself to calm down. Getting an anxiety attack over something like this would be dumb.

 

He’s done dumber things.

 

“Why not?” Renjun demands, looking a little put out. “That’s the best part! Besides, you’re the one that brought it up.”

 

“You asked what the difference was between Canadian rock paper scissors and Korean,” Mark sighs.

 

“And you told us, so now you have to do it,” Donghyuck says. “C’mon, are you chickening out?”

 

“I really can’t,” Mark repeats. His hands are shaking and he tucks them under the table.

 

Jaemin tilts his head, “Why not?”

 

Jisung and Chenle are busy timing how long the younger can hold up a glass of water with his mind, the stopwatch on Chenle’s phone reading over five minutes. Jeno seems to be zoned out, while Jaemin, Donghyuck, and Renjun eye him curiously.

 

Mark could say why. Mark knows he _should_ say why. No one would care, but the words are stuck on the tip of his tongue, and he blurts out, “My friend and I have a bet.”

 

Jisung looks up, suddenly intrigued. Chenle yelps as Jisung accidentally drops the glass, diving out of the chair to catch it. “A bet?”

 

“Oh, how interesting,” the show host winks at him. “Is this bet with a lady friend?”

 

Mark splutters out a denial as Donghyuck points at him and laughs. In all honesty, the ‘girlfriend’ questions hardly faze him anymore. They still make his ears turn red, but that’s usually due to Donghyuck’s eyebrows wiggling in the background. The conversation briefly skirts over Traits, but Mark smoothly sidesteps the question about his own and they’re back to talking bout roommate preferences. He’s just glad they’re back in neutral territory.

 

It lasts until they’re back at the dorm. Mark thinks he’s escaped questioning when they scarf down the takeout the managers had picked up for them on the way home. Jeno is so tired he’s nodding off in his soup and Jisung carefully helps him back to their shared dorm.

 

“So what is it?”

 

It takes Mark a second to realize Donghyuck is talking to him. “What?”

 

“What’s your Trait?” Jaemin says. He’s eyeing the strawberry pastries their manager had sneaked them with distaste.

 

“Don’t force him,” Chenle says, grabbing Jisung’s salad and standing up. “Not everyone is as open with their Traits as you guys.”

 

Chenle disappears down the hallway and Renjun breaks the silence. “Huh. I forgot. Is Canada that much different from Korea? China’s a little stricter, but not much. Just if your Trait is, you know, dangerous.”

 

Dangerous. Mark lets out a slow breath. “Right. Uh, it’s a pretty private thing. You don’t usually tell anyone besides your family and the government official you register with. And they usually put it on file with your school documents so your teachers know, too.”

 

“So, you can tell us then, right?” Jaemin asks.

 

“I’d rather not.”

 

There’s a brief moment of silence and Mark realizes that came out harsher than he meant it to.

 

“I-I mean-”

 

“So, did you see the new Captain Marvel trailer?” Donghyuck says loudly. The three of them stare at him.

 

“What?” Jaemin asks.

 

“Did. You see. The new Captain Marvel trailer?”

 

Renjun’s hair flashes a nervous red before he smooths down his expression, turning it back to its natural color. “Yeah. It was pretty awesome, right?”

 

“I loved it. Let’s go watch it again, though, I’m not sure I found all the easter eggs.”

 

Renjun sends them a helpless look as Donghyuck drags them to his room and closes the door behind him. Mark turns to look at Jaemin. Jaemin just shrugs, slinking into his room. The door shuts softly behind him. The kitchen light flickers, and Mark is left alone in the dark.

 

  
~.~

 

Boss promotions start the next week and Mark is glad to be out of the dorm. They’re split half and half, Chenle, Jisung, and Jeno sending him friendly smiles, while Jaemin seems wary of him and Donghyuck flat out avoids being in the same room as him. Renjun seems split between the two of them and more often than not disappears into his room with Donghyuck. Mark and Donghyuck don’t even live in the Dreamies dorm, but with the last round of promotions they’d more often than not conked out on the couches or squeezed into a bed with one of the other members.

 

The tension bleeds into the 127 dorm, and Mark takes refuge in Lucas’ room in the U dorm.

 

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal,” Lucas says. Kun hums in agreement, typing away furiously on his laptop from his bed in the corner. Jungwoo is taking a nap in the other corner, nose tucked under the blankets.

 

Mark flops on Lucas’ bed, stealing one of the pillows. “Because I’m the only one who hasn’t told them.”

 

“I haven’t told anyone my Trait yet, either,” Kun points out. His tongue sticks out as glares at the screen. “Neither have Johnny or Jaehyun. Ten only told us his a month ago. It’s not easy for everyone.”

 

“I just said it in a weird way,” Mark says into the pillow. “Now they think I don’t think of them like family.”

 

Lucas tilts his head, grabbing the other pillow and folding himself around it. “Don’t you?”

 

“Of course I do,” Mark rolls over. “But I haven’t told anyone my Trait.”

 

Kun looks up from the laptop. “Ever? Not even your parents? You had to have told SM.”

 

“Well, yeah,” Mark says uncomfortably. “But I’ve never actually _told_ anyone. I accidentally figured it out, which is how my parents found out and how it was recorded. SM only had to pull up the files. I’ve never actually, uh, said it aloud.”

 

Lucas pats his back. “I’m sure if you talk with them they’ll understand. Do you want us to go with you?”

 

Mark sighs. “I’ve already tried talking with them. We’re going to be so busy with promotions I doubt I’ll have time.”

 

Jungwoo slowly stirs, blinking at Mark sleepily. “Do you want a hug?”

 

Mark sniffs. “Yes.”

 

Kun joins their puppy pile and pets Mark's hair while Lucas cheekily places a kiss on his head, and then Jungwoo's when he whines about being left out.

 

Johnny catches wind of the discord between the Dreamies and makes it his mission to become Mark’s personal bodyguard, hype man, and confidant. 127 has a separate schedule from U, but Johnny somehow bribes the managers to bring him along anyways, citing a need for fresh air. He even convinces Dongyoung to temporarily switch rooms with him so he can stay with Mark during his down time. Mark’s pretty sure it’s also because Dongyoung can keep an eye on Taeyong and refuse to let him leave with one of his energy barriers when he wants him to sleep.

 

They share stories about Vancouver and Chicago and how itchy and annoying their anklets were. Johnny claims that his was worse because he couldn’t even stuff a sock or a hot pad between the metal anklet and his skin during winter. Mark points out that his at least had built in cushioning. Mark’s was straight up metal and wiring, although thankfully a little looser than Johnny’s. Johnny even shows Mark his Trait again, making him a complex metal earring that Mark insists on wearing at all of their stages.

 

Honestly, Johnny had had it worse than Mark. Not only was his Trait labeled ‘Dangerous’, but since it could manipulate metal, and therefore the anklets, any and all traces of his Trait were severed. Study after study showed that doing so to a child could severely stunt their growth and control over their Trait. Johnny was lucky enough to have minimal damage, nothing that a few years of trait therapy couldn’t undo once his parents were able to move their family to Korea. Mark himself had had to go through a year of trait therapy, thankfully nothing as intense as Johnny’s. He hadn’t even needed to tell his therapist what his Trait was.

 

The comeback goes great. In fact, they’re received even better than expected. Ten shyly shows off his stability Trait at a fan sign by balancing on a toothpick and takes over social media for a solid week. Jaemin begins to hesitantly respond to Mark in their text group, and Donghyuck even sends him a thumbs up after a particularly intense stage. Renjun just seems exasperated by all of them and Jeno sends him a leaf from the top of a tree because anti-gravity was great, apparently. Chenle and Jisung don’t act any differently around him, which is a relief when they get together for a quick V-live, except they seem to be off in their own world.

 

Once promotions are over, Mark can’t really hide. There’s another Dream promotion coming up in three months and they need to be in their best state by then, physically and emotionally. Mark reluctantly tells the manager to drop him off at the Dream dorm and texts Johnny that he’s not going to be back.

 

It’s Jisung that opens the door, although he’s still sitting at the couch wrestling with Chenle over a controller. 

 

Renjun’s head pops over the back of the sofa. “Ah! You’re back.”

 

Mark sighs, going into leader mode because wow. Safety first. “Why did you open the door? What if it hadn’t been me?”

 

“Donghyuck said it would be fine,” Jaemin says from the kitchen, a glass of water in one hand and a box of cereal in the other. Mark has seen stranger things.

 

Renjun pats the spot next to him invitingly and Mark gives up, dropping his backpack in the entryway and flopping down. Chenle take that as invitation to flop across both of their laps.

 

“Markeuuuuu, Boss was so good. Jisung and I already learned the choreo for it with Jeno. Haechan keeps playing it when we’re exercising, too, so now all of us know it!”

 

“Hm,” Mark hums. His eyes are already closing and he barely notices when he falls asleep.

 

At some point he registers feeling weightless and an intense round of heated whispers before he’s tucked into bed and left to sleep. There's a whisper that sounds an awful lot like Donghyuck that ends with a soft something on his cheek, then disappears. 

 

18 hours later he wakes up face to face with Jaemin.

 

Mark blinks, “Nana, what are you doing here?”

 

Jaemin startles, his cloud dissipating as he drops to his feet in the middle of the room. Mark winces. “Sorry.”

 

“Nah, you’re fine,” Jaemin waves him away, hopping onto the bed next to Mark.

 

They lay in silence as the sun slowly comes up. Mark stares at the ceiling and the eighteen glow-in-the-dark stars Jeno had stuck up there for them. Each members name was scribbled on one of them, and Mark’s eyes linger on the one with a sun doodled in the corner.

 

“We all miss you, you know?” Jaemin says quietly.

 

Mark rolls over to his side. “I missed you guys, too. I was busy.”

 

Jaemin snorts. Mark glances at him. “That’s not why you were never here.”

 

“Yeah,” Mark concedes.

 

“You don’t have to tell us your Trait. Nobody cares that much. It’s just, like, a scoop of ice cream with a brownie. You don’t need it, but it’s nice to have.”

 

Mark snickers, bringing his knees up to his chest. “You have been hanging out with Donghyuck too much.”

 

“I thought it was a great analogy,” Jaemin huffs. “Anyways, you know how, like, my power is to control clouds?”

 

“I thought it was just sitting on them?”

 

Jaemin smacks his arm. “How do you think I get them in the first place? Anyways, it’s a bit like controlling the weather, you know? Everyone always wanted something different. ‘Make it hot’, ‘make it cold’, ‘my crops need rain today’. People started seeing me as my Trait instead of a ten year old boy.”

 

“Nana,” Mark starts.

 

“Lemme finish,” Jaemin waves his arms. “Anyways, I stopped telling people my Trait because why bother? I didn’t even tell anyone here my Trait until last year. And even then, you’re the first person I’ve told about the cloud summoning thing.”

 

“Thank you for trusting me with it,” Mark says, wrapping an arm around the younger.

 

Jaemin hums, leaning against Mark’s arm. “And do you know why I like sitting on clouds?”

 

“Because you can pretend you’re taller than Jisung?”

 

“No!” Jaemin smacks Mark’s arm again, ignoring his yelp. “Because no matter how dark it is outside, I can still see the sun.”

 

Mark squints at him uncertainty. “That was cheesy.”

 

“Duh. I’m just saying, your Trait doesn’t matter to us, and it’s not worth losing the sun over.”

 

“...oh my god that was worse.”

 

“Shut up! I’m trying to be deep, let me have my moment.”

 

Over breakfast, Jisung practically drapes himself over Mark, refusing to let go even at threat of dishwashing. Chenle joins forces with him and latches onto his legs so they collapse as a heap on the couch. Jeno dive tackles them from above, which results in another round of shrieking, and Jaemin and Renjun dog pile onto of all of them.

 

Later that day Renjun quietly tells Mark that he can shift his appearance as well. Not just his hair, but his facial features and body structure. It’s not something he openly advertises because of the controversy over body modifying Traits. Mark gives him a hug and sits next to him on the drive to the studio. Jeno sends them all into a laughing fit as he calmly tells them of the time when he was 6 years old and floating off of every surface his mom put him on.

 

Mark doesn’t see Donghyuck until later that day when he comes back from the 127 schedule. He scoffs at Mark’s freestyle rap and goes back to calling him ‘Canada’ and sends him an apologetic smile. Mark feels his heart warm and his smiles become genuine.

 

They’re on another V-live discussing the possibility that Chenle‘s laugh came from his Trait when the lights go out. The blinking light on the camera dies and the AC unit hums to a halt. They panic.

 

“Ow! That was my foot.”

 

“Sorry, Lele.”

 

“Chenle, I think your tiger is biting my shoe.”

 

“Ah, Chen-ge! Come back here.”

 

“Something brushed my pants, oh my god.”

 

The door opens and they all shriek again. Yukhei shushes them, closing it quietly behind him and Jaehyun.

 

Mark stands up, carefully making his way over to them by the thin sliver of light from the door. “What’s happening?”

 

“Break in,” Jaehyun says shortly, nodding to Yukhei. The younger nods seriously and disappears with a pop.

 

“There’s too many of us for Yukhei to transport at once, so he’s going to get the police. I asked him to drop me here because I knew you guys were by yourselves,” Jaehyun says, lightly tapping Mark’s shoulder to move him towards the back of the room. “C’mon, it’s harder for them to see us back here.”

 

The others follow silently, Chen-ge letting out a quiet growl.

 

“What if they get in?” Jaemin whispers quietly once they’re huddled in the back corner.

 

“They won’t get far,” Jaehyun says shortly.

 

Mark wraps an arm around Chenle and Jeno, eyeing the door. “Why not?”

 

Jaehyun winks, his fingertips crackling with electricity. “That’s a secret.”

 

Mark stares at the bright pop of blue. “Huh.”

 

The door rattles and Donghyuck groans.

 

“What’s wrong?” Renjun whispers.

 

“Something not good is going to happen,” Donghyuck forces out between gritted teeth.

 

The door slams open and three guys in ski masks and black suits rush in, hands outstretched. “Don’t move!”

 

Jaehyun points his finger at one of the guys and electricity comes dancing out, crackling angrily across his knives and knocking the guy to the ground. The second guy laughs, easily dodging another bolt of electricity and breathing out a flame of fire. Jeno yells and Mark has the sudden curling feeling of being weightless. They float towards the ceiling, Jeno’s jaw twitching, before they crash back to the ground.

 

Jisung gets to one knee and curls his fist. The windows shatter, glass pieces hurling at the last two. The third one screams, and they all drop to the ground to cover their ears. The side of the building explodes, and wow, Mark had forgotten how high up they were.

 

Chenle growls along with Chen-ge and suddenly their room is filled with birds squawking and pecking at the men in black. Jaemin glares and clouds rumble angrily into existence, swallowing them up.

 

Mark glances at them and his heart drops. “Renjun! Where’s Renjun?”

 

Donghyuck purses his lips and his eyes widen as he glances back at the inferno of clouds and birds. “Oh my god, stop stop stop. He’s in there, Renjun’s in there!”

 

Jaemin swipes his arms and the clouds disappear with a puff, and the birds stream back out of the side of the wall. In the middle stands three men, two of them identical.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“Who are you?”

 

They glare at each other, lips curled identically. The third guy looks between them. “Wait. E, is that you? Which one is you?”

 

“I’m me,” they say at the same time, then whip around to glare at each other.

 

“Stop copying me, this is my body.”

 

“What are you-this is my body. Stop looking like me, you freak.”

 

“Filthy child, get out of my body.”

 

“Stop saying that. This is _my body_.”

 

Mark sneaks a glance at Donghyuck, only to see him and Jaehyun nod at each other silently. Nope, bad idea. He tries to catch their attention but neither of them notice. Jaemin and Jisung are carefully checking Jeno, who is passed out on the floor, while Chenle sits against the wall, blinking blearily. Mark checks Chenle's forehead. The kid smiles sleepily up at him. He should not be this warm.

 

Renjun as the man in black and the man in black are still arguing, but Mark knows that won’t last long, and Jaehyun and Donghyuck aren’t nearly as discrete as they think they are. The first guy is stirring on the floor and Mark holds his breath. Slowly lets it out.

 

Jisung looks up at him. “Hyung?”

 

“I’ll be right back,” Mark says.

 

And for the third time in his life, Mark counts.

 

“One, two, three-“

 

Mark has forgotten the feeling of being nothing. His body feels weightless, his voice echoes weirdly, and his feet seem to float above the ground. The outside world is muffled, like listening through cotton. Jisung is gaping at the spot Mark used to be in, and Jaehyun and Donghyuck have caught onto the fact that something is wrong.

 

“-eleven, twelve, th-thirteen-“

 

Mark knows which one is Renjun. It’s obvious which one is Renjun, just from the way he talks. Mark would know that sarcasm anywhere. But just in case, Mark creeps up behind the screaming guy first.

 

“-twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four-“

 

Thank god Mark took martial arts when he was younger. He curls his hand into a fist and punches. Hard. The guy collapses, and Mark takes in a breath and forgets to count.

 

The fire breather whips around and yells. “Q!”

 

He spots Mark and sneers. Mark feels frozen in place. “You’re gonna pay for that, you-“

 

His body jerks as Renjun roundhouse kicks him and Jaehyun lets a bolt of electricity strike him. Jisung has no mercy and curls the wall around his body, trapping him.

 

Renjun immediately morphs back into himself and collapses on the ground. Mark slides to his knees and wraps the younger in a hug. “Oh my god, Injunie, oh my god are you ok?”

 

Donghyuck’s shoe comes flying out of nowhere and brains the first guy, but not before he flings a knife at the kneeling pair not ten feet away from him. And Mark could disappear again, dodge the knife, but.

 

He rolls instead, pulling Renjun with him and feels the knife nick his arm. It stings but Mark picks up Renjun and darts back to the group.

 

Jaehyun is immediately in front of all of them, whole body crackling dangerously. “Someone check on them, please, and make sure Chenle stays awake.”

 

Mark sits down, arms still tightly wrapped around Renjun. He blinks, and it takes him a moment to realize Donghyuck is talking to him.

 

“-pid idiocy! Of all the insane things you’ve ever done, this takes the cake Lee Mark.”

 

Mark blinks at him again and Renjun carefully pulls out of his grip, gingerly holding Mark’s arm.

 

“-can’t feel anything,” Renjun is saying to Donghyuck.

 

Donghyuck growls. “Don’t even think about moving, Canada.”

 

Jisung is softly talking to Chenle in the corner, and Jeno is slowly stirring awake.

 

Mark blinks again and suddenly there are police officers swarming the room. Jaehyun bares his teeth at them and doesn’t let them come any closer until Yukhei stumbles into the room, eyes fluttering.

 

“Hyung, I got them, ‘s me.”

 

Jaehyun catches him as he stumbles over his own feet, and the next thing Mark knows he’s being herded into the back of an ambulance, away from the other. He latches onto Donghyuck’s arm and refuses to let go.

 

“Please, just let me go with him,” Donghyuck says. Johnny pops up behind them at some point and forces his way into the ambulance alongside them and Mark can briefly see Jaehyun and Jungwoo helping carry Yukhei to one of their vans. 

 

“It’s gonna be alright,” Johnny tells him in english.

 

Mark closes his eyes.

  

~.~

  

There is nothing Mark hates more than hospitals. They remind him too much of the anklet fitting and the beeping monitors that kept him alive as they forced it on him. The cut on his arm takes a second to heal by one of the nurses, but the paperwork takes hours.

 

Thankfully, he’s allowed to sit in the waiting room with the rest of NCT. Jeno, Yukhei, and Chenle are still recovering and will probably have to stay the night. Johnny refuses to let Mark out of his sight and is glaring at anyone who looks at them for too long.

 

In all honesty, he’s worried about Donghyuck. Unlike Taeil, who sits hunched over his four leaf clover, Donghyuck is darting up and down the hallways, powers in full force. Mark knows he’s trying to make sure the others recover properly, but they’re in good hands. Donghyuck is just tiring himself out at this point.

 

Taeyong eventually sighs and stands up. “Ok, Taeil, Doyoung, Jungwoo. Let’s take the kid home.”

 

Donghyuck sees them coming immediately and dodges them, and it takes the combined force of them plus Ten and Jisung to get him out of the building. Mark blearily watches as they leave and closes his eyes.

 

It feels like he has just gone back to sleep when Johnny is slipping away and pushing his head onto another shoulder.

 

“Mmph.”

 

“Go back to sleep, kid,” Johnny says gently.

 

Yuta pats his shoulder invitingly and Mark lets his head drop, feeling Sicheng sit down on his other side.

 

“We’ve got him,” Yuta says.

 

Sicheng hums in agreement. “Nobody gets past me.”

 

Johnny laughs quietly. “I’m sure they don’t. I’ll be back soon.”

 

~.~

  

As strange as it sounds, there are a few good things that come out of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For one, all of their songs shoot up on the music charts and anti’s have been all but silenced. They also get several weeks off while the company hires a sufficient security team and upgrades building security and dorm security. Since Jeno and Chenle are still recovering, all comebacks and stages have been put on hold until everyone is back at 100%.

 

They aren’t allowed to go home until a week later while security threats are assessed, so they all camp out together in the 127 dorm, since it’s the biggest. Apparently, the SM building was right next to a bank and the would-be bank robbers had confused the two. Mark really doesn’t understand how, since the building has a giant neon billboard at the top of it. The camera they had been recording with is taken in as evidence, but thankfully they are left alone after that.

 

Since they are teenage boys, for the most part, they get bored and tired of being cooped up very quickly. Ten devises mini Trait games that don’t blow up the kitchen, and they play continuous rounds of truth or dare or Trait. They take too much amusement out of watching Jisung trying to balance a glass of water on his nose.

 

Mark finally tells everyone about his Trait. It’s hard and scary, but easier than he thought it would be with Johnny at his back and acceptance from everyone. He briefly skims over the anklet, letting Johnny explain the schematics, then wins five consecutive games of hide-and-go-seek in a row. Johnny joins in, twisting Tens phone into a heart and back again (except he crushes the wiring and spends the next ten minutes apologizing), and Kun finally reveals his Trait.

 

“Flowers.”

 

“Flowers?”

 

“Flowers,” Kun says again, and a vine of flowers grows out of Jaehyun’s sad aloe plant pot and curls around the room.

 

Lucas hums, plucking one and tucking it behind Jungwoo’s ear. “I like it.”

 

Jungwoo kisses him on the cheek and the room erupts into catcalls. Donghyuck is one of the loudest, but his hand stays firmly in Mark's and his cheeks are a little red. Mark smilies and leans his head on his shoulder. 

 

~.~

  

Variety shows are a lot more interesting, now. Chenle and Renjun almost always suggest hide-and-go-seek as their ice breaker game and roll around in laughter when Donghyuck continuously fails to find Mark and gets more and more annoyed. On the other hand, when they get tired of losing to Mark, they suggest a counting game that Mark rolls his eyes at and backs out of. Fans think that his Trait is even more mysterious than him not having one and laugh when Mark makes Jeno announce 1, 2, 3.

 

Renjun has taken to copying their voices to see if they can tell the difference, and Jaemin messes with clouds to make the perfect selfie lighting. Mark still wakes in the morning to find Jeno floating down the hallway. Lucas randomly pops over for breakfast when he’s bored, and Taeyong trained with an Olympic trainer over the summer and is faster than ever. Taeil and Donghyuck team up more often than not during 127 games and win every time, and Doyoung and Ten come up with a cool power combination that involves Ten rolling down the hallway on a ball-shaped-barrier. Jisung has figured out how to float people around and practices on Chenle so he can fly next to his bird friends. Jaehyun is their official electronics guy, but he’s also the first one they blame if the power randomly goes out. Johnny starts a mini NCT jewlrey store that explodes in popularity. Jungwoo has better control of his empathy and laughs more, and Kun becomes the fan service King by presenting their fans with handcrafted bouquets. Winwin makes it snow inside when things get too boring, and Yuta quickly melts the evidence when Taeyong shows up unexpectedly.

 

When Yangyang, Hendery, and Xiaojun come to the dorm for the first time, the door opens by itself and a snowman greets them at the doorstep. A guy flickers into existence in front of them and it’s a struggle not to jump.

 

“Ah, sorry about the mess,” Taeyong sighs, brushing snow off his shoulder. “Come in, come in.”

 

A boy floats by and gives them a smile. “Hi! I’m Jeno.” And he floats off with their luggage, disappearing around the corner.

 

Yangyang’s hair starts floating and he nervously pats it back down. A few papers scatter by an unseen wind. “Ah, sorry. That’d be me.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. As you can see, we’re pretty free with our-”

 

Taeyong blurs, catching a vase on the other side of the room. “Park Jisung! If you’re not paying attention to it-”

 

“-don’t make it float. Sorry, hyung!”

 

A kid in the middle of a group of bunnies like Snow White or something giggles. "Jisungie, c'mon. Let's go to the tree to see the ravens again!"

 

Jisung-the-vase-dropper grins and the pair levitate out the door, a single red rose escaping the vase and following them out. 

 

“This is a mess.”

 

Xiaojun jumps as Taeyong speaks from right beside him and a everything in the room turns green. “Ah, shoot, sorry, sorry!”

 

The room turns back to normal.

 

“What was that?” A kid floats in a cloud and another guy Hendery recognizes as Lucas pops into existence next to them.

 

“My bad, sorry,” Xiaojun says again and Hendery sighs.

 

A stress ball appears out of thin air and Hendery hands it to Xiaojun. “Better?”

 

“Much,” Xiaojun sighs, the ball flickering between different colors. Lucas seems to be mesmerized by it, eyes wide open.

 

“Cool,” another guy says from behind him. Hendery stares as an entire stack of papers blows over in the corner.

 

The guy cringes. “That’s on me. Sorry for startling you.”

 

“That was my fault, I’m so sorry,” Yangyang cries in the background.

 

“I give up. Kun! I need help,” Taeyong calls, disappearing in the maze of rooms.

 

The guy winces, and holds out a hand. “Sorry. Again. I’m Mark. Welcome to NCT?”

 

“The curtains are on fire again,” Ten yells from one of the bedrooms and Yuta comes stumbling out.

 

“It was an accident!”

 

Hendery sighs, nudging Yangyang and Xiaojun and shaking Mark’s hand. “Glad to be here. I think.”

 

“Somebody call the fire department!”

 

“Again?”

**Author's Note:**

> And NCT continues to be the mess we know and love. I hope y’all enjoyed! I actually have another NCT fic that I was gonna put out first, but I finished this first, sooooo.
> 
> So, powers:  
> Taeil - Luck. He can focus his luck powers through the four leaf clover he always carries around or just let it loose if he wants. He's the luckiest guy on the planet. But also, damn, those vocals. They ain't luck, son.  
> Taeyong - Superspeed. As the unofficial dorm mom and leader, he needs to be everywhere at once. Also the world record holder of every track event. Ever.  
> Jaehyun - Electricity Manipulation. He can create his own electricity and move it around however he wants. The electricity companies don't know whats hit them.  
> Kun - Flower power. While his creations might be pretty, you don't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath. Those vines are deadly.  
> Johnny - Metal Man. Metal bender? Basically can control any and all metal. Often found making jewelry for Ten because he seems to be in a never-ending need for more earrings.  
> Yuta - Fire bending. He and Winwin commonly nerd out over Avatar and create their own battles to post on youtube. He's never burned anyone, but the curtains are his cursed enemy.  
> Ten - Balance. Literally nothing can knock him over. He can balance on anything and basically has the world's best body control. He once sat in the same place without moving during category four hurricane winds as a bet.  
> Dongyoung - Energy manipulation. Basically forcefields. Think Violet from the incredibles. When he doesn't want to do something, no one can make him. Until Jaehyun or Taeyong lure him out with Mango-flavored tarts.  
> Jungwoo - Empathy. He can feel what everyone around him feels and also control it, if he wants to. Which he doesn't because he's the sweetest guy ever and we love Jungwoo. A six-time consecutive number one winner on the world's sweetest smile chart.  
> Winwin - Snow manipulation. He loves changing the weather at will and creates the most beautiful snowflakes you will ever see. He is Yuta's official partner in crime and was the one that created their youtube channel. Not that he'd ever tell you.  
> Lucas - Teleportation. He can pop in and out wherever he wants and take people along for the ride, too. It's gotten him into several sticky situations, but his charm usually gets him out of them  
> Mark - Basically ghost powers. Think lord of the rings, but he's basically sightless and soundless whenever he counts. It's like he disappears from this plane of reality. He is now a five time world champion of hide-and-go-seek. He's very proud of his trophies.  
> Renjun - Shapeshifting. He commonly refers to himself as a metamorphmagus, but since that's trademarked, SM calls him a shifter. Never has anyone gotten away with so many pranks.  
> Jeno - Controls gravity. Commonly floats through the corridors in his sleep if he doesn't tie himself to his bed. Memorably the first baby to reach space.  
> Donghyuck - The 7th sense. Precognition. Whenever he purses his lips he can tell when something is about to happen and can be in the right place at the right time. Kinda like seeing the future, but not quite. He still has a crystal ball and scented candles scattered around his and Mark's room because it freaks Jeno out.  
> Jaemin - Controls clouds and can, for some reason, sit on them. Nobody really knows why. His unofficial hobby is to scare airplane travelers by floating past them on a pink dyed cloud.  
> Chenle - Can communicate with any animal telepathically and speak their language. They listen to him. He's their supreme overlord. Fun fact, is friends with the only legalized free tiger in the world.  
> Jisung - Makes things float. Telekinesis. He does, as we discover, also possess the ability to control walls. Or matter. It's still unclear. Likes floating glasses of water through the air because people look funny through them.  
> Yangyang - An airbender. Of sorts. He controls the wind and can create it anywhere he wants. It's very useful for scattering paperwork he doesn't want to do.  
> Hendery - A Summoner/Banisher. Can call anything he wants to his hand and send it somewhere else. Is often found sighing over his other members messes and banishing their ruined cooking attempts to the dumpster.  
> Xiaojun - The color guy. Can change the color of anything he wants. The creator of some of the best and worst combinations in fashion.
> 
> Lemme know what you thought and if there is any errors because, as usual, I’m going solo. Love you guys <3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Look For Me, Yeah?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20391703) by [DuckyD](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuckyD/pseuds/DuckyD)




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